I tend to like to get along with people. I like to believe that all of us are professionals and we can do our jobs without the need for harsh words and confrontation. Most of the time that’s true. Sure, I’ve had the odd occasion when I’ve had to ask someone to up their game, but by and large it all works smoothly. Then there are the other times.

Those are the times when you read the brief and feel that you understand it. You do a test article and it’s fine. You do a few more and they are fine. Then, all of a sudden, the game changes and you can’t seem to do anything right.

There are lots of possible explanations for this:

Maybe you took your eye off the ball and your work is not to the same  In that case, the professional thing to do is to admit it, go back to the brief and fix what’s wrong.

Perhaps the client had expectations that weren’t in the brief. Most people do, and if you’re lucky most of the time you meet these unvoiced expectations. If you don’t manage to write to the hidden brief, then you are within your rights to refuse to do more work for the same pay. If the directions are not written down, then you can’t follow them.

Finally, there’s the situation where you have a personality clash with the client. Somehow you are not on the same page, in spite of a clear brief and successful test articles. When that happens the only thing to do is to confront the person who is hiring you. Ask direct and specific questions about what they want and how you can provide it. Once you have those answers, you can decide whether this writing gig is worth it.  And that decision is not only about money. It’s about your happiness, too.